March Madness - How many new volunteers can you recruit?

CoCoRaHS March Madness is the friendly annual recruiting contest between all 50 states to see who can recruit the most new volunteers during the 31 days of March.

As the saying goes, "rain doesn't fall the same on all". So, there is always a need for a greater number of observations. Due to the variability of precipitation, amounts measured can be quite different only a block or two away. You can help fill the gaps by recruiting friends and family during the next few weeks. The more observers there are, the clearer the picture and the better understanding we have of where it did and did not rain/sleet/hail/snow.

CoCoRaHS founder, Nolan Doesken, and the "CoCoRaHS Cup"

The winning state receives the "CoCoRaHS Cup" to keep and exhibit until next year's contest. North Carolina has won twice, in 2011 and 2012 and South Carolina won back in 2008. That's four years out of the nine that the Cup has been up for grabs - not too shabby for us Carolinians!

Check out this great video, "In Quest of the CoCoRaHS Cup," that the clever folks at CoCoRaHS headquarters pulled together. It even features a cameo of our very own NC state climatologist, Ryan Boyles.

So, help fill the gaps in the CoCoRaHS network by recruiting a friend or relative to join this month!

And, if your new recruit is feeling particularly ambitious, be sure to share information about the CISA and CoCoRaHS citizen science condition monitoring project. We'd love to have a few more observers providing weekly updates about how the rainfall they have or haven't received is affecting their local environment and community!